TEHRAN, May 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Iran and Azerbaijan have launched a joint
special forces exercise, state media in the Islamic republic said Sunday,
weeks after Iran's president visited the neighbouring country.

The "Aras-2025" exercise, running through May 21, involves Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps and Azerbaijani troops, the IRNA news agency
reported.

The drill was being held in areas of Karabakh previously disputed with
Armenia before Azerbaijan regained control in September 2023.

"This drill is a key step in boosting border security and confronting
potential threats," said Brigadier General Vali Madani of the Guards' ground
forces.

Last month, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made a rare visit to Baku,
where he met his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.

"Iran will make efforts to ensure that its relations with Azerbaijan are
strategic across all spheres," Pezeshkian said at the time.

Ties between the two neighbours were strained over Azerbaijan's close
security cooperation with Israel and a deadly 2023 attack on its embassy in
Tehran.

Baku reopened the embassy in mid-2024 and the attacker was sentenced to
death.

Tehran has been strongly opposed to the so-called Zangezur corridor linking
Azerbaijan to Turkey which would run along Iran's border with Armenia.

In November, the two countries held a joint naval exercise in the Caspian
Sea.